***I seem to only write conversations I hope have happened between Robert and Andy. I truly hope that their relationship is solidified in the next episode because I believe in their love for one another. One episode left!
Andy clutched the wheel as she drove home. All day, she had grown more and more concerned that her father had hid secrets about her mother and her mother's family from her, and the conversation with Snuffy solidified those concerns. She loved her father all of her life, but he did have a track record of "doing what was best for her" only for it to be the opposite of what she wanted or needed. What skeletons did her father have in his closet?
Lost in thought, she didn't even realize that she had pulled into the driveway. It struck her that for the first time, she had thought of this place as home. It had always felt like Robert's apartment, but in this moment, it felt like her home. But did Robert feel like home?
She loved him, and she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. That is why she had married him. But Jack had her questioning her decision and put the thought in her head that she had jumped into a marriage too fast because her father could walk her down the aisle. Robert and her both admitted to being stubborn, and he told her that he doesn't say sorry enough, so would they even make up after fights like these?
Then, she realized that she had never even seen a healthy relationship if her father and her mother did not have the picture-perfect relationship she had envisioned in her head. What if she was self-sabotaging her new relationship with Robert just because she didn't know how to love someone? She vowed as she walked inside, that she would not let her father's mistakes ruin her relationship with Robert.
As she opened in door, she realized that all the lights were turned off in the house. Robert had left after their fight, and he must not have returned. Suddenly, she was nervous. What if he was so offended by what she had said earlier, that he didn't want to see her. Here she was, ready to actually talk to him about what she had been feeling, but he wasn't even willing to come home.
It had been a long, hard day. She decided that even if he wasn't going to come home, she was going to sleep in their bed. She made her way upstairs, turned on the shower, and tried to clear her mind as the water poured over her.
As she was drying off, she heard the door to their bedroom open and keys drop onto the dresser. Robert must have come home after all. She sighed in relief, wrapped herself in the towel, and walked into the bedroom. His back was turned away from her as he changed into boxers and a tshirt.
"Hi." Andy said in a soft tone. Robert turned around at the sound of her voice, "Hi honey, are you doing okay?" Andy went to sit on the bed, but Robert whipped around, "Hey, hey, hey, one of my insane rules is that you don't sit on the bed when you are still wet." Andy felt herself smile for what felt like the first time today, "I dried off enough, and it's my bed too. I say that I can sit on the bed, but I will compromise and not put my wet hair on the pillows."
Robert leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry for what I said earlier." he said in a soothing voice. Andy looked up into his deep, brown eyes. She could get lost in them for hours. But she knew that it was time to be honest with him. "I was kind of scared that you weren't going to come home," she said sheepishly.
"Andy, when I married you, I vowed to be with you, for better or for worse. Today may have been our first fight as man and wife, but I would never let that keep me from ending my day by your side." Andy stood up so that she would wrap her arms around her husband, "I love you Robert." "I love you too," he said as he leaned down and kissed her.
"I guess we need to talk about what happened earlier, and I also have some more things to say." Andy said as she grabbed one of Robert's t-shirts to sleep in. "I agree. I'll start by saying I am sorry for how I spoke to you earlier. I care about you, and I can tell that your father's death is taking a toll on you. I should not have suggested that you take drugs just to feel better, and I should not have called your behavior crazy. But, Andy, I am worried about you." He said, trying to convey how much he cared about her with his eyes. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him.
Andy looked down at her husband. "Thank you for apologizing. I'm kind of surprised, considering you claim that you don't say sorry enough." Sullivan laughed as he squeezed his wife, "I don't say sorry enough, you're right. But, for you, I am willing to admit when I am wrong because I love you and I want to build our relationship on trust, honesty, and love."
His comment made Andy feel guilty. The time had come for her to be honest with her husband. She was nervous though, so she used a towel to dry her hair as she said, "It's my turn to be honest." Robert eyed his wife, concern in his eyes. "The first day I went back to work, Jack questioned me about rushing into a marriage with you. At first, I defended myself, but as they day went on, his comments wore on me and I began to question myself. Not my love for you and not your love for me, but myself and my decisions. I just was, and still am, a flat-out mess." She sneaked a glance at her husband, who was looking at her expressionless.
Robert stood up and walked to his dresser. "Robert, I, I didn't mean to upset you. You just said we need to be honest, and I haven't spoken to you about it yet because, I don't know, I'm just scared you feel like this was a mistake." She walked towards him and grabbed his hand. He was still fumbling through his sock drawer. "Robert?"
He turned around, with a ring box in his hand. He took her left hand in his, "Marrying you was not a mistake Andy. I bought these rings the day before your dad died, but I couldn't find a right time to give them to you, or to begin wearing mine. If you aren't ready to wear them, or never want to, you don't have to. But, I can tell you, that no part of me regrets marrying you."
Andy took the ring box in her hand and opened it. A beautiful, delicate engagement ring and wedding band stared back at her. She took the rings out and placed them in his hands. This gesture made him inhale, scared that she would say she didn't want them. "I was upset when you announced to all of those people that we were married because I wasn't ready to tell people. I was still a mess, and that talk with Jack had me all over the place." He lowered his gaze, embarrassed that he had not listened to his wife.
Robert felt his wife's hand on his face, moving it to meet her eyes. "But I am glad you told them. I do not regret marrying you, I am just a mess. And now, the truth is out, and we can begin our lives together." He smiled softly, relieved that she was no longer upset. "So, Robert, I think that we should renew our vows, right here and now, with rings."
"I vow to support you, push you, inspire you, and above all, love you for better or worse, in sickness and health, for richer or poorer, as long as we both shall live." Robert said softly, as he placed the rings on Andy's finger. She repeated the vows as she slid Robert's wedding band onto his finger. They then shared a tender kiss, filled with love and happiness.
As they parted, Andy said, "There is more that I wanted to tell you from today." "Me too" Andy was confused, "Does this have to do with where you went tonight?" Robert sighed as he pulled her to the bed, "Yes. Today was not an easy day for me, which may have contributed to why I was harsh earlier. You can tell me your thing first though if you want."
Andy let out a soft laugh, "Well, though what I am about to say is not really a good thing, I am happy to say that I was right, and you were wrong." Robert furrowed his brow, "I am not often wrong," he said sarcastically, but confused about what she was talking about.
"Well, you were wrong about my dad," Andy let out. She looked at him as she continued, "I went, and I talked to Snuffy tonight. I wanted to ask him about my mom and dad. If he was controlling of her, if she was happy, just to find out what he was hiding from me. And do you want to know what he said?" "What?" Robert replied, genuinely worried for his wife. "He said that I don't want to pick a scab because it might just bleed."
Robert sighed, "Andy, I am sorry that I didn't believe you earlier. Your father was a good man, but maybe he did hide things from you. But, are you sure you want to keep looking into this?" "I need to know the truth. I've lived the last 20 years believing that my father and mother had an amazing love story. I need to know the truth." Robert pulled her close, "Okay, I will be here to support you every step of the way."
Andy pulled herself up on her elbow. "Robert, I'm scared. What if I don't know how to be in a healthy relationship since I never saw a true example of love." He grabbed her face and kissed her. "Tonight, you took a huge step by being vulnerable and honest with me. That is a step towards building a healthy relationship. We will work on this together, as husband and wife."
She sighed in relief, leaning closely into his arms. "Today was hard." she whispered. Robert signed, "Yes, yes it was." Andy looked quizzingly up at him. "Why was today hard for you?" Robert opened and closed his mouth, not knowing exactly how to say it. "When I went to Dixon to tell him about us and the drugs, he decided to sweep it under the rug and in exchange… He said I owed him a favor."
Everyone in the department knew Dixon was sleazy, and she was surprised when Robert told her that Dixon knew about the drugs and didn't have any repercussions, but she was so wrapped up in her own issues that she didn't even think about it. "So, what do you think the favor will be?" Andy asked.
"Actually, he already tried to start using his favors." Robert replied. Andy squeezed his hand, "What did he want?" "He sent me a stack of fire inspections, and I sent Hughes and Montgomery out to conduct the inspections. They called me in to say that there were fire code violations, and I realized that he wanted me to sign off, no questions asked. Hughes begged me not to sign them, and I called Warren because I was upset. Either I compromise my morals yet again in order to save myself, or I defy Dixon and risk losing my job.
Andy sighed. She knew that her husband was a good man who had made a mistake. She didn't want to see him lose his career due to the addiction he faced from an injury he sustained on the job. "So, what are you going to do?" Andy inquired. Robert took a deep breath. "Actually, I already made my decision."
"I went to the union rep and confessed that I had developed an addiction and stole drugs from the PRT. The rep had me take a drug test, and when it came back clean, he advised me to tell Dixon what I had done. He said I would not lose my job due to my addiction, but he wasn't sure if I could lose my job for stealing drugs."
Robert continued, "I knew that there was a civil service commission meeting tonight, so I went and I confessed in front of the heads of all the departments in the city, including the Chief of Police, that Dixon had a track record of corruption including covering up my theft of narcotics."
Andy gasped, "Robert, oh my god. What happened?!" "The Chief had me go outside and talk with him privately. I confessed about my illegal activity, and I told him about Dixon covering up violations of fire permits. The Chief said that he had heard of Dixon's corruptions, but he never had any hard evidence."
"He had blocked him from being promoted many times in the police department, and that he was surprised by the Mayor's decision to promote him to Fire Chief. Now that he had a confession, he could use it to remove Dixon from the Chief position and charge him with criminal charges. He told me that I would not be charged for the theft of the drugs due to my confession."
"So, you are going to be okay? What about your job?" Robert sighed, "I am still not sure if I will be able to keep my title, but I will still be a firefighter regardless. I anticipate to hear from the department after they find a replacement for Chief."
Andy squeezed her husband tight. "I am proud of you for doing the right thing Robert. It must not have been easy, but you are a good man, and now everyone will see that." Robert stroked her hair, "Andy, I think I want to get the surgery for my leg."
She looked up at him. "I just think it is time. I have been in so much pain, and the only reason I didn't get the surgery sooner was because I was scared to admit to the department that I had an injury. But now that I have admitted to stealing drugs, I think I can admit to having an injury."
"I want you to live a life without pain. If this surgery could help you, I will be there every step of the way for your recovery." Robert smiled at his wife. "I know I said that we had no more secrets after I announced our marriage, but this time it is completely true," he said.
Andy smiled at her husband, "You're right. There are no more secrets. And guess what?" "What?" he chuckled. "We made it through our first fight, without even having makeup sex," she joked. That made Robert laugh. "It's not too late you know," he said with a sly smile as he pulled Andy in. She laughed as he kissed her, thinking of how lucky she was to be his wife.